Thompson said the city intended to lower the water level about 6 feet to allow municipal crews to remove trees and other debris from the bottom near the shoreline.

“We informed Relmco so that they could take some advantage of it for the project,” he said, asserting Relmco never was supposed to have a role in lowering the creek.

Returning after the Martin Luther King Day holiday, city workers discovered only puddles in what is normally a quarter-mile-long pool up to 12 feet deep. An undetermined number of fish died, Thompson reported.

Besides using a pump, Hackebeil confirmed Relmco workers opened a gate on a dam that forms the pool — which city officials say hasn't been used in decades — to expedite the water release.

If the gate got damaged, Thompson said, the city will pursue reimbursement of the cost of repairs, and Hackebeil agreed the company would be responsible if that's the case.

It's unclear how Relmco will drill holes and install piers if it doesn't have access to the creek bottom.

“We haven't even started the work yet because the water has to go down first, then we have to install a bedding and then we need to be able to get our drilling equipment into the creek bottom,” Hackebeil said.